DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4376#0160
142 EXCAVATIONS ON SITE OE MAUSOLEUM.
exposed to weather and accident, as Avould have
been the case had the stair been left open, they
wonld hardly have been preserved in so perfect a
condition to the present clay.
Supposing the stair to have been filled in flush
with the level of the rock behind it, the entrance
to the tomb would have been concealed under a
depth of nine feet of soil, and this superincumbent
mass of earth would, of course, have added greatly
to the security of the sepulchre.
It may be observed, in reference to the western
side of the Quadrangle, that the large stone which
closed the entrance to the tomb, ranges with the
pier in which the flank wall of the stair terminates,
as shown in the Plan. If, then, we suppose the
large stone to have been inserted in the masonry of
the basement, the western line of the foundation
would include the stair pier.
On examining the Plan and Sections of the
Mausoleum, it will be seen that the native rock of
the platform is pierced by subterraneous galleries at
two different levels. These passages are conse-
quently distinguished in this work as the Upper
and Lower Galleries.
It will be perceived, on reference to the Plan, that
the Lower Gallery runs all round the Quadrangle
of the Mausoleum, having no outlet except on the
eastern side, near the south-eastern angle. There
can hardly be a doubt that this gallery served for
the drainage of the building. On the eastern side,
a drain issuing from under the paved area of the
Quadrangle at the point marked <■ in the Plan, flows
exposed to weather and accident, as Avould have
been the case had the stair been left open, they
wonld hardly have been preserved in so perfect a
condition to the present clay.
Supposing the stair to have been filled in flush
with the level of the rock behind it, the entrance
to the tomb would have been concealed under a
depth of nine feet of soil, and this superincumbent
mass of earth would, of course, have added greatly
to the security of the sepulchre.
It may be observed, in reference to the western
side of the Quadrangle, that the large stone which
closed the entrance to the tomb, ranges with the
pier in which the flank wall of the stair terminates,
as shown in the Plan. If, then, we suppose the
large stone to have been inserted in the masonry of
the basement, the western line of the foundation
would include the stair pier.
On examining the Plan and Sections of the
Mausoleum, it will be seen that the native rock of
the platform is pierced by subterraneous galleries at
two different levels. These passages are conse-
quently distinguished in this work as the Upper
and Lower Galleries.
It will be perceived, on reference to the Plan, that
the Lower Gallery runs all round the Quadrangle
of the Mausoleum, having no outlet except on the
eastern side, near the south-eastern angle. There
can hardly be a doubt that this gallery served for
the drainage of the building. On the eastern side,
a drain issuing from under the paved area of the
Quadrangle at the point marked <■ in the Plan, flows